Outcomes: Science and Technology PPS3.4 Identifies and aqpplies processes involved in manipulating, using and changing the form of energy INVS3.7 Conducts their own investigations and makes judgements based on the results of obswerving, questioning, planning, predicting, testing, collecting, recording and analysing data, and drawing conclusions. Mathematics NS3.4 Compares, orders and calculates with decimals, simple fractions and simple percentages
Phase
Activities
EVALUATE
What do you want the students to know? What representations will provide evidence that they understand the concepts?
We want students to be able to identify a range of strategies to reduce energy usage. Possible strategies include: dressing in clothing which reduces reliance on heaters and air conditioners; share the living room with other family members instead of going into bedrooms in the evening, in order to reduce use of lights; switching off appliances at the powerpoint when not in use; switching to energy-efficient globes and taking shorter showers with water-saving shower heads (so that less hot water is wasted);begin a campaign at school and home to promote these strategies.
We want students to know how to be energy aware and understand how much energy we use (directly and indirectly), what we use it for, and what we can do to reduce our consumption and the effects of our use. (also where it comes from and the effects of using it (HSIE??))If a campaign of strategies is to be planned, the unit could culminate in students designing their own poster or powerpoint presentation outlining strategies. The use of the kw gauge for measuring energy saved, and a basic conversion into appropximate dollars saved, could be included in the campaign. ======Students could complete a peer-evaluation feedback form on each group presentation.====== An end-of-unit checklist assessment task could be completed. Students generate a score and compare this to the score attained in the same task at the beginning of the unit.
What do you want the students to be able to do? How will they demonstrate this?Students prepare a powerpoint or interactive poster presentation on their chosen strategy for saving energy. The 'audience' of the presentation would need to be specified eg. a class of infants students, a gathering of parents.
We want students to be able to identify that all day, everyday we are using and consuming energy in our homes/schools/buildings.To recognise that some objects use more energy than others.To understand that simple habit changes can lead to big reductions in energy use.To make their own judgements based on the findings of their observations, testing, experimenting and data analysis and understand that energy reductions are important.
ELABORATE
What student investigation/s or application of knowledge would extend their understanding? Representations?How can we change our energy consumption? Report findings to school at assembly, giving out awards to best class for turning off lights, data projector, computers etc. Develop a brochure using powerpoint/publisher/paper/other multimedia presentation that demonstrates what electrical energy is, a comparision of common electrical appliances and their energy use, audit results for school and recommendations for ways that the school could save energy - and what this would save them in a monetary value. A did you know? section for students to add a piece of personal interest learning from the unit. The audience of this task could be negotiated ( School board and Principal, parents in general, a younger class)Students work in small groups to research one strategy and the potential impact of change in behaviour on energy usage and cost savings
EXPLAIN
What are the current scientific explanations? How best can the students represent their understanding?Literacy product? How do we introduce the vocabulary?? Some sort of information to make students aware of the energy consumption they are responsible for and that will point out (reinforce) to them how much energy is actually wasted. Need to explain that energy is used in appliances and can be transformed. (Changed, transferred, measured) Reading/exploring some information about energy leading into some sort of comprehension style task?? Answering questions to demostrate ability to teacher so that further exploration/experimentation can take place before leading into the elaborate stage. This could be done online as an interactive task or as a print out task. Need something here to make sure that everyone is on the same page with their understanding of electrical energy and its use and effect. .
EXPLORE
What hands-on, shared experiences of the phenomenon are appropriate? Representations?Allow time for students to investigate real energy account notices, with personal details removed. These could be provided online by Country Energy and supplemented with hard copies of real account notices from the local area. Provide time for students to discuss implications and speculate about causes of seasonal variation. Convert the breakdown of costs shown on each account into a piegraph. Attempt simple calculations of money which could be saved with the implementation of energy-saving measures, (eg. if we could help this family to save 10% of the energy they normally use, how much money will they save each quarter? each year? each decade?)
Provide tables for students to complete online, and the percentage calculation formula of outcome NS3.4, and allow time for small-group work to calculate dollar savings on a range of electricity account totals eg.10%, 20% or 50% reduction in energy usage equates to $?. A calculator function could be provided as part of the program so the students simply enter the details in the correct sequence into the formula, then drag the answer to the appropriate column in the table of results. Different small groups could be working on different mock energy account totals, then get together to compare findings.
What is electrical energy and how do we use it?
Explore a range of household appliances and the amount of energy that they use. Predict the amount of energy the students think will be used for each appliance. - Perhaps set up stations to explore 5 or 6 common appliances such as computers, microwaves, fridges, hairdryer, kettle, data projector and use a meter to measure the electrical energy it takes to use these appliances. (most of these should be available to bring from home or they could be found around a school.) Set this task up as an experiement to be completed by the students. (even for schools with smaller numbers of meters or power points this task could still be completed as part of a number of rotating, experiemental type tasks to explore the use of electrical energy.) Compare/share results and records/obeservations and ideas.
Using the findings of this experiment to predict ways that the students could reduce energy use at home/school. Test a prediction.
Explore and online energy efficient house. Work out how much electrical energy is being used in a particular room at one time. For example in a bedroom where the owners are using a light,laptop computer and ipod. Some examples of this include the REEC site - http://www.reec.nsw.edu.au/k6/page/e33.htm Perhaps this idea could be adapted and made a bit more interactive, where students could choose from a number of objects in the room to find out how much energy they are using. This could help to create a link between home/school use.
Explore a sample bill from Country Energy and compare this sample bill over a 12/24 month period - probably needs to be over a period of time so we can compare how much enery is used in Summer/Winter during that time.
ENGAGE
How can we engage students and elicit their prior knowledge? Representations?Note: The following idea could possibly be better utilised in the 'Engage' phase of the first (HSIE) phase. Students complete an interactive checklist or rating scale to generate a personal energy-saving score. This rating tool could be divided into two parts: firstly, a rating of current energy usage habits; secondly, a rating of anticipated importance of energy-saving measures. The checklist could be completed again at the end of the program, and the scores compared. As an alternative to completing this rating tool individually, whole classes to participate could complete it together and/or the results could be collated for an overall picture of students' perceptions of energy usage and energy-saving measures.
A littl unsure of where to start here - Will depend on what gets covered in the first unit. Depending too on wether or not people choose to use the first and second unit together perhaps we need to cover quickly what the students know already about electrical energy and its uses. Brainstorm - develop some sort of graphic organiser to show what they know and what they would like to know. Making sure that they have some sort of energy awareness.
Outcomes:
Science and Technology PPS3.4 Identifies and aqpplies processes involved in manipulating, using and changing the form of energy
INVS3.7 Conducts their own investigations and makes judgements based on the results of obswerving, questioning, planning, predicting, testing, collecting, recording and analysing data, and drawing conclusions. Mathematics NS3.4 Compares, orders and calculates with decimals, simple fractions and simple percentages
We want students to be able to identify a range of strategies to reduce energy usage. Possible strategies include: dressing in clothing which reduces reliance on heaters and air conditioners; share the living room with other family members instead of going into bedrooms in the evening, in order to reduce use of lights; switching off appliances at the powerpoint when not in use; switching to energy-efficient globes and taking shorter showers with water-saving shower heads (so that less hot water is wasted); begin a campaign at school and home to promote these strategies.
We want students to know how to be energy aware and understand how much energy we use (directly and indirectly), what we use it for, and what we can do to reduce our consumption and the effects of our use. (also where it comes from and the effects of using it (HSIE??))If a campaign of strategies is to be planned, the unit could culminate in students designing their own poster or powerpoint presentation outlining strategies. The use of the kw gauge for measuring energy saved, and a basic conversion into appropximate dollars saved, could be included in the campaign.
======Students could complete a peer-evaluation feedback form on each group presentation.======
An end-of-unit checklist assessment task could be completed. Students generate a score and compare this to the score attained in the same task at the beginning of the unit.
What do you want the students to be able to do? How will they demonstrate this?Students prepare a powerpoint or interactive poster presentation on their chosen strategy for saving energy. The 'audience' of the presentation would need to be specified eg. a class of infants students, a gathering of parents.
We want students to be able to identify that all day, everyday we are using and consuming energy in our homes/schools/buildings.To recognise that some objects use more energy than others.To understand that simple habit changes can lead to big reductions in energy use.To make their own judgements based on the findings of their observations, testing, experimenting and data analysis and understand that energy reductions are important.
Need to explain that energy is used in appliances and can be transformed. (Changed, transferred, measured)
Reading/exploring some information about energy leading into some sort of comprehension style task?? Answering questions to demostrate ability to teacher so that further exploration/experimentation can take place before leading into the elaborate stage. This could be done online as an interactive task or as a print out task. Need something here to make sure that everyone is on the same page with their understanding of electrical energy and its use and effect.
.
Provide tables for students to complete online, and the percentage calculation formula of outcome NS3.4, and allow time for small-group work to calculate dollar savings on a range of electricity account totals eg.10%, 20% or 50% reduction in energy usage equates to $?. A calculator function could be provided as part of the program so the students simply enter the details in the correct sequence into the formula, then drag the answer to the appropriate column in the table of results. Different small groups could be working on different mock energy account totals, then get together to compare findings.
Students complete an interactive checklist or rating scale to generate a personal energy-saving score. This rating tool could be divided into two parts: firstly, a rating of current energy usage habits; secondly, a rating of anticipated importance of energy-saving measures. The checklist could be completed again at the end of the program, and the scores compared. As an alternative to completing this rating tool individually, whole classes to participate could complete it together and/or the results could be collated for an overall picture of students' perceptions of energy usage and energy-saving measures.
A littl unsure of where to start here - Will depend on what gets covered in the first unit. Depending too on wether or not people choose to use the first and second unit together perhaps we need to cover quickly what the students know already about electrical energy and its uses. Brainstorm - develop some sort of graphic organiser to show what they know and what they would like to know. Making sure that they have some sort of energy awareness.